Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/04/22

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] SHORT development
From: Christer Almqvist <chris@almqvist.net>
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 08:56:31 +0000

Somebody wrote:

>>I use Xtol 1:1 for 16 minutes in small tanks, and I too would like
>>to free up those minutes for something else.  I may experiment....

If you want to save development time, then you may want to increase
temperature.
16 mins at 68°/20° would correspond to something like 11 mins at 75°/24°,
but different films may react differently to temperature changes. Too high
temperatures tend to increase grain (in my experience) but 24° is well
inside safe limits

And somebody wrote:

I agitate for the first 30 seconds, then do about seven
complete tank inversions every 30 seconds thereafter.


Alternatively you may wish to invert the tank 10 secs (i.e. 4 times) every
minute instead of seven times every 30 secs. You can do a lot of other
things in 50 seconds, but hardly anything in 15 secs. I tried 30 sec vs 60
sec intervals with the same film under otherwise identical circumstances
and there was no practical difference in film density or contrast. A
similar test with only one inversion every 60 secs resulted in thinner and
flatter negatives. Since I did the test I have got Paterson tanks, and they
say one inversion per minute is enough, but then the spacing of their
spiral is wider (which is ONE of the reasons I got their tank) than that of
my old Kaiser/Jobo tank. So you will have to try it out for yourself what
the minimum agitation for your taste and equipment will be.....

- --
christer almqvist
eichenstrasse 57, d-20255 hamburg, fon +49-40-407111 fax +49-40-4908440
14 rue de la hauteur, f-50590 regnéville-sur-mer, fon+fax +33-233 45 35 58